Workplace Health & Safety is serious business

We continue to be surprised by the low level of awareness employers have regarding their workplace health and safety (WH&S) obligations.

WH&S is serious and obligations imposed by legislation are extremely onerous. Employers need to be aware of WH&S laws and what they need to do to comply. This doesn’t only include the obvious of ensuring accidents don’t happen, but also that there’s no bullying/violence in the workplace and having systems to prevent accidents and bullying. A workplace that doesn’t do this is an unsafe workplace and the employer, as well as others involved can be prosecuted.

Unfortunately, it’s not a defence to a prosecution to claim ignorance of the laws or lack of knowledge of the incident. The obligation on employers to ensure the health and safety of employees is absolute. That is, if there’s an incident that results in an injury or illness then the employer has breached the legislation unless they can establish one of the very limited defences. Prosecution is a strong possibility - even where there is a risk of injury or illness.

This is a criminal prosecution. If the employer pleads guilty or is found guilty, then there will be a criminal record against the employer – this will be against the individual/s who own the business if the employer is not incorporated. In addition, the employer will receive a substantial fine. The maximum fine against a company can be hundreds of thousands of dollars and whilst this is in extreme cases, the average fine is still $25K – $50K plus costs. The fines are less where the employer is an individual but there’s the added risk of being sentenced to jail for up to 2 years for those extreme cases.

In addition, it’s important to be aware that directors and managers can be prosecuted personally for the same breach, and also face monetary fines and the possibility of jail.

It’s for these reasons that employers shouldn’t treat an investigation by Workplace Health & Safety Queensland lightly. WH&S is serious and failing to comply carries severe consequences. In order to try to minimise the severity, employers should seek legal advice without delay when an accident occurs in their workplace.